Staphylococcus hominis in the urogenital tract

• Isolated from the human urinary tract, blood and other tissue
• Opportunistic pathogen^​1​
• Builds strong biofilms^​1​
• Generally regarded as a harmless commensal of skin
• Produces thioalcohol compounds that cause body odour
• May cause opportunistic infection, more so in those with compromised immune systems
• Tends to colonise areas with abundant sweat (apocrine) glands, such as armpits and pubic area
• Predominant species found on head, armpits, arms and legs
• Can produce acid products aerobically from glucose, fructose, sucrose, trehalose and glycerol, with some strains able to produce acid from turanose, lactose, galactose, melezitose, mannitol and mannose
• Colonises skin for several weeks or months
• Optimal growth temperature range is 28 to 40 °C, but good growth is still observed at 45 °C, and no growth seen at 15 °C
• A close relationship is believed to exist between S. hominis and S. epidermidis, S. haemolyticus, and S. warneri^​2​
• Multiple drug treatments and resistances^​3​
• Can adhere to HeLa cells^​4​
• Over 40 per cent of methicillin-resistant S. hominis strains invade epithelial cells^​4​
• Cytotoxic activity of extracellular factors causing destruction of epithelial cells^​4​

References